THE UNITED (screenshot story)
"'''THE UNITED" was a screenshot story created by Cameron Costin Clevenger Stephens, and was the third and final major installment in "THE DIP SAGA." This would be the last canonical appearance of character Hermione Katze. The story began its posting in late November 2005 and ended in February 2006, almost exactly on the anniversary of the first story's initial posting. This story was posted on the same thread as "THE DIP" and "THE DETECTIVE," Stephens having learned from the previous story's hassle. "THE UNITED" was about as popular a screenshot story as its two predecessors, and fans were pleased that Stephens had brought back the fan-favorite and eponymous "DIP" substance. The installment follows Hermione and Anne in medias res as they are evading a flood of the fluid within a DIP factory, apparently after Anne mistakenly detonated a bomb within a container of DIP, but not the machine itself. The story then follows the two as they are hunted by an unseen force, which causes their alliance to split. The story was the second of two story-length sequels to "THE DIP," the other being "THE DETECTIVE," and was the final installment of the saga. GENERAL INFORMATION "THE UNITED" utilized the same unique presentation and style that "THE DIP" and "THE DETECTIVE" had used before, but now CG elements were combined into the images, making for a more atmospheric and stylized flair. FORMAT Similar to its two predecessor, "THE UNITED" was posted in incremental portions, once again labeled "scraps," that continued the story from where the last scrap left off. Same as "THE DETECTIVE," each scrap included roughly forty to fifty images, but the frequency in which they were posted was more comparable to the more rapid postings of the first installment, "THE DIP." PLOT THE UNITED begins following Hermione and Anne in medias res as they are evading a flood of the fluid within a DIP factory, apparently after Anne mistakenly detonated a bomb within a container of DIP. They narrowly escape the facility just as the DIP floods into the engine room, causing it to ignite and the facility to be destroyed. However, following the facility's destruction, the duo begin experiencing a number of bizarre happenings, both of whom believe the other is committing behind the other's back. After much confusion and rising tensions, they realize they are being stalked and break up The DIP Crushers offices in order to maintain their own protection. However, it becomes clear that Hermione required the union for her own sanity, as Little Furball, her imaginary friend, begins coming back to her frequently. The sky becomes overcast and the entirety of Toontown is blanketed in an endless blizzard. Hermione attributes it to atmospheric changes caused by the facilities destruction, but it very well may be a manifestation of her onset depression. Hermione is then ordered to "guard" an insane asylum, though it's fairly clear that she is being committed and is simply delusional. However, she fails her duty as a "guard" and a makeshift bomb produced by one of the insane people blows a hole in the wall, letting all the people within escape, including the delusional Hermione. After continued insanity, Hermione eventually returns to the site of the DIP installation from the first screenshot story, "THE DIP" and throws herself down its derelict exhaust pipe, claiming she has an idea. The screenshot story ends with Anne reading about the break-out at the asylum, with Hermione's fate left unknown. The story then follows the two as they are hunted by an unseen force, which causes their alliance to split. COMMUNITY "THE UNITED" TODAY Unfortunately, following a flame war and spambot attacks on "THE DIP" thread (which also contained "THE DETECTIVE" and "THE UNITED") that followed Stephens' abandonment of the series (see this article), he requested that the "Toontown Central" moderators lock and delete the entire story, including all pictures and fan comments. After community interest in the story spiked and new forum members began a desperate search for the deleted story, Stephens uploaded a comically terrible revisiting of the story, seemingly created in Microsoft paint, and had moderators immediately lock the thread. This way, curious TTC members would instead find this awful version of the story when searching the forum's archives for "THE DIP" or either of its sequels, and community interest would eventually subside. Besides the occasional screencap of the original forum posting, no copies of the original story are known to exist. Before the site overhaul of 2015, c3sabertooth.com had a small section dedicated to "THE DIP SAGA," in which Stephens revealed that he is no longer in possession of the original screenshot story files. TRIVIA * REFERENCES